A Touch of Luck

In Seattle, a homeowner finds her dream house and fills it with her favorite things.

Hayley Francis says luck was on her side the day she set eyes on her dream home.

Like many house hunters, Francis had compiled a wish list that included a desired location (a pocket neighborhood within the city limits of Seattle); style of home (a Craftsman bungalow with old bones but in good condition); and specific features, such as hardwood floors, black-and-white kitchen tiling, and a blue exterior paint scheme. Realistically, though, she knew that it would be difficult—almost impossible—to find a house that gave her everything she wanted.

So when the home actually materialized, Francis could hardly believe her luck: “It was a jackpot of a find!” She moved into the home, a 1922 Craftsman bungalow, in February 2015.

“The home hit almost all of my wants, which is not to say I don’t have some projects in the works,” she says, “but for the first two years, it’s really just come down to new paint color, wallpaper, hardware, and lighting.”

Design Savvy

She considers herself fortunate, but luck had nothing to do with how successfully Francis, who’s passionate about interior design, has decorated her home.

Francis writes a blog about interiors and fashion at neondoves.com and works as a trend and design department manager for an online furniture store, The Mine by ATG Stores.com.

When the time came to decorate her new house, Francis felt comfortable tackling the project in her signature eclectic style.

“I say ‘eclectic’ because I mix and match so many different styles,” she explains. “I love the luscious Bohemian look, but I also can’t get enough of the minimalist movement and Parisian chic and incorporating my travels within my home.”

Though eclectic, the house is definitely not a mishmash. Francis was careful to select furnishings that inspire her. “It may not feel like everything has a distinct and purposeful place at first, but you come to realize that everything does,” she says. “Each piece was carefully thought out. In that sense, it’s very similar to my clothing style.”

When selecting larger furnishings, “I plan the design and take my time,” she says. “For statements pieces, I home in on pieces that I know I’ll love 10 years down the line. My sofa, for example, is the focal piece in my living room. It’s a Louis XV sofa, one that I’ve wanted as long as I can remember.”

When it comes to smaller furnishings, Francis says she’s a bit less discriminating: “I’m willing to take more risks and select trendier pieces, because they can be easily switched out.”

Creating Flow

Though Francis hasn’t altered the character of the house, she has changed the interior color scheme. Previously painted in dark neutrals, the interior walls are now white, green, and pink, which Francis incorporated into other elements throughout the home to give it a nice flow.

In the kitchen, for example, she changed the dark-gray walls to soft white and the white cabinets to a Caribbean green, then accessorized the space with a salmon-colored area rug. The new colors work well with the black-and-white floor, which remains one of her favorite features of the house. “I’ve always wanted a black-andwhite floor in the kitchen,” Francis says enthusiastically. “Everyone warned me that it’s hard to keep clean, but I don’t mind.”

The green cabinets tie into a palm leaf–patterned wallpaper in the master bedroom that can be glimpsed from the kitchen. The wallpaper—a focal point of the room— is offset by a creamy white bedspread and a Moroccan rug in shades of pink. At first, Francis was hesitant to install the large-print pattern, but she’s glad that she finally did. “To me, this print is timeless,” she says, “and it also makes me happy when I look at it.”

In the living/dining room, Francis changed the wall color from dark gray to white, brightening up the space and matching the room’s white-painted fireplace. To delineate the living and dining areas, Francis removed the chandelier from the center of the room and placed it above the dining table, a small change that made a big difference in the way the space looks and is used.

Of all the rooms in the house, Francis loves the living room best—specifically the area in front of the gas fireplace, which she calls her “go-to happy place.” She’s furnished the area with comfortable pieces. Among them is the aforementioned Louis XV sofa, but Francis doesn’t spend much time on it.

“During the winter months,” she says, “I live on a sheepskin rug by the fire.”

by TAMMY ADAMSON-McMULLEN

photography by ELLIE LILLSTROM